You can view my outline in its formatted glory here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1df8uctkRMj4SAi2wYD5iMEK7N91LCOAEjYFBwkQHkCQ/edit?usp=sharing

Here it is in plain, unformatted text. This is how I decided on a solid and neat structure for my essay!

Thesis: Beneath the obvious racial tones of West Side Story, there is a narrative of homoeroticism and the growing LGBT community The musical illustrates the struggle with sexuality and gender identity that was beginning to gain traction in 1957, using subtly characterized LGBT characters.
A. Baby John- gay male stereotype. Comic books, feminine features, “i love captain marvel.”
B. Anybodys- possible trans man?? (ftm trans) doesnt fit into any gender norms.
C. the structure and production itself- choreography, gay writers, hypermasculinity and homoerotic themes.
D. using these elements, the writers created a hidden narrative that illustrated what it was like to be gay in NYC in 1957.
2) In a musical that focuses entirely on a heterosexual romance, you wouldn’t expect to find any gay characters. However, subtly using gay stereotypes or characteristics, the writers subtly introduced a gay male character– Baby John. (topic sentence)
“Baby John, a blonde, shy and peaceful member of the Jets, is perhaps the most important site of a white gay subjectivity. [He] is an avid reader of comic books featuring superheroes. … Baby John desires, rather than identifies with, Superman.”
Baby John says: “Captain Marvel. Gee, I love him.” he likes captain marvel
“Reviewers praised West Side Story for its sociological boldness and for changing the face of the American musical theater, but they did not comment, at least publicly, on the gay subtext of character relationships or the homoeroticism of the dancing. “ inside west side story
Transitional device-
3) Anybodys: ftm trans character.
A. “Anybodys, a woman without a proper name, has no community… she is an open subject sitting on the sexual/gender fence,” states Negron-Mutaner, again in her scholarly article “Feeling Pretty.” <- use this quote
B.Inside West Side Story: “Equally bold is the inclusion of the character named Anybodys, a teenage girl who identifies as a male and longs to be accepted as a full member of the Jets……..Anybodys is Broadway’s first transgender youth.”
C.
D. Conclusion/Transitional Device? Anybodys embodies a trans youth coming to terms with their identity
4) Topic Sentence for Supporting Idea #3
A. “The thematics of ‘impossible love’ is close to other ways of imagining–or failing to imagine–love between two men or ‘the love that dare not speak its name.'” -feeling pretty
B. “The effeminancy of many dance seuences with its several numbers where Jets and Sharks pretend to figh, one on top of the other, makes spaces for ritualized same-sex physical contact, which would be otherwise impossible in a Hollywood film in 1961.” fp
C.”Along with Arthur Laurents, composer Leonard Bernstein, director-choreographer Jerome Robbins, and lyricist Stephen Sondheim were all in various stages of coming to terms with their homosexuality in the oppressive atmosphere of 1950s America. With the exception of Sondheim, the creators of West Side Story had narrowly escaped professional ruin during the anti-gay and anti-Communist witch hunts of the McCarthy era. By 1957, the persecutions were essentially over, the far Right was in retreat, and West Side Story afforded four gay men an opportunity to create a work of art that challenged prejudice and affirmed the power of love in defiance of social norms.” inside west side story (simplify this)
D. these aspects helped to create the narrative which connects to the reality of being a gay man in 1957.

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